Rise of the Successor
by Reinonymous
Summary: Monaca's plan worked; the plan to create a new Successor for Junko Enoshima. Komaru's first task as the Successor is to witness and handle an all out war between the Future Foundation and the Remnants of Despair in Towa City. But how far will this new Successor go for the sake of Despair? Is there even any Hope left for her? Maybe with some luck, her brother, Makoto, can reach her.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N I don't really know what genre to put so that could change**

Komaru was supposed to be a normal high school girl. She didn't have any notable talents and mostly followed the majority, but she didn't mind her lifestyle. The girl had loving parents and an adorable older brother that she looked up to. Even when he was recruited for Hope's Peak Academy, the best school in Japan, Komaru was never jealous of him; she felt nothing but pride. She was an otaku who loved manga and considered drawing it as a career. This was the life she always thought of having.

Then what went wrong?

She began to lose hope when she was a prisoner for a year and a half in an apartment. Being freed by that Monokuma gave her new hope, only to be caught again in a bigger cage — the demon hunt. Hunted by children. Feeling so useless. Despair replaced her newfound hope, again. Even then she made a new friend, a walled up writer who was a sneeze away from becoming a serial killer. Together, they were able to overcome that despair by fighting back, defeating the children one by one. They contacted Future Foundation, saw Makoto again, and even instilled hope to the rest of the adults in the city.

Komaru and Toko overcame every obstacle and that's what has led them to stand above the sitting Monaca Towa. In Komaru's hands was the remote that controlled the army of Monokuma and the children of Towa City. They did it. They won.

Then what went wrong?!

It was so tempting to break the controller, especially when Kotoko and Haiji came in and added more pressure to such an important decision. It was even more nerve wracking when she learned that the children's heads would explode if the controller broke, yet the adults of the city were shouting at her to do it anyway. Their yells made Komaru's legs, her entire body, tremble in fear. Maybe it wasn't her gut telling her to not break it, but rather the fear of making a mistake.

But none of that mattered once the TV was brought in.

Komaru was brought down to her knees as the image on the TV burned into her eyes. Two adults were hung with their faces darkened, the names "Komaru" and "Makoto" were written on the woman's skirt in blood.

Her mouth moved on their own. "Komaru? Makoto?"

She just saw that her parents were dead; they died of misery and torture. Now, something else inside of her felt the same way.

Her ears began to deafen but she knew what they were saying. The Towa siblings insisted on revenge by destroying the controller, while Kotoko and Toko insisted to not do it. Komaru looked at the controller as she thought about what to do now. As everyone continued to persuade her, there was only one thought on her mind, right there and then.

 _So what?_

Komaru looked up at Monaca, with burning eyes — eyes ready to incinerate the witch child into ashes. She could already feel a burning sensation somewhere in her gut.

"If you want me to destroy it that much," she said, "I'll do it." The heavy coals weighing down her stomach began to heat up the flames inside of her.

Toko was starting to feel nervous. She replied, "I-I said hold on! Calm down and think carefully, Komaru!"

The flames were starting to become too much to handle. She could feel steam come out of her nose before venting all that anger into her lungs.

"Shut up!" Toko was taken aback by this, but Komaru continued to yell.

"Who cares anymore?! No matter what happens to the adults, no matter what happens to the children, no matter what happens to this city, no matter what happens to the world…" The yelling was getting louder and louder, as if she was trying to get this through to the entire world. She took a huge breath in, only to let it out in one big swoop.

"I don't give a damn anymore! I don't give a damn!"

As Komaru stood up, the tears hanging on her cheeks fell down to the cold, hard floor. She raised the controller above her head.

"K-Komaru!" Toko shouted.

Komaru turned her head towards her, but not before glancing over everyone else. Monaca watched, with anticipation, at the moment of truth she worked hard to achieve. Haiji was grinning like crazy for the opportunity of revenge. Kotoko watched, with dread, for the children and being alone again. Toko seemed to be paralyzed, but she was shaking too. The hot streaks on Komaru's cheeks made her grit her teeth.

"Toko… I'm sorry, I… it's impossible… I… can't become like Makoto…"

"This was all determined from the very start," Monaca chimed in.

Komaru imagined all of the memories of her old life; the life she had with her brother and parents. She shoved all of them between her hands.

"The hope you felt was just for the sake of making you feel the worst kind of despair."

She imagined her memories of the hunting game. Meeting all new sorts of people and becoming close with Toko. She pushed all of them between her hands.

"I knew from the beginning that you would fall into despair."

Komaru focused all of her emotions between her hands. The loneliness of the apartment, the fear for her life, the smiles and laughs she's had, the anger and sadness wallowing within her at the moment.

All of her hope was now between her hands. With all her might, she swung the controller down onto the cold floor.

She watched it shatter. It made a bittersweet sound as it broke into a million pieces. There was nothing left within Komaru; only despair could fill the void within her now.

And the world celebrated with fireworks all over the city.

As the room vibrated from all of the explosions, the flashes brightening the window, Haiji's cackles filled the room like thunder.

"Yes! The children are dead!" he boasted. "Now, our hope can finally prosper!"

Kotoko and Toko looked in horror at the shattered controller, frozen in their places. A sinister grin creeped on Monaca's face towards Komaru, who showed no emotion as she stared at the hands that once held the controller. She blinked a few times before her hands began to shake and her voice was a quiet wail.

"What… have I done…?"

Her knees became heavy all of a sudden and they crashed onto the floor. Soon, she was down on all fours, the girl felt like she was surrounded by despair. Even the floor seemed to taunt her as it reflected the sinister smile on Monaca's face. It started to sink in, like a slow but deadly poison seeping into her bloodstream. The poison called Despair, as well as the realization of what she just did to those poor children.

 _I just killed them._ Komaru couldn't even say that without choking on her words.

Her next bout of despair came at her like a brick, because it dropped from the ceiling.

A big crash burst through the wall. Komaru had just enough time to see Big Bang Monokuma's fist inside the room before chunks of the ceiling came towards her face. The debris crashed and surrounded the girl, isolating her from the outside world. Komaru felt something wet on her head, which didn't matter as she began to close her eyes. What was initially a vision of shadows blended with small cracks of light, soon became just complete darkness.

 _So, this is true despair..._

* * *

A laugh bellowed the silent air around a man carrying a wheelbarrow of two teddy bear heads. The black bear head, Kurokuma, couldn't help but make fun of his little brother, Shirokuma, the white bear head.

"I can't believe that Monaca's plan actually fucking worked! She started a war and groomed a successor... only for you to kill her!" Kurokuma laughed some more.

"Hey, I did get both leaders at least," Shirokuma replied, trying to defend himself.

"We didn't even expect her plan to actually work," Kurokuma continued. "I mean come on! How can you have a successor when the original still exists?!"

"And now that the war will begin soon... our plan, created at the assumption of Monaca's failure and to truly revive me, has failed. Soon, Remnant of Despair will reunite without the Neo World Program." The man's face was stoic throughout their discussion. His red eyes occasionally glanced towards the bear heads as the wind carried his long dark hair behind him.

"Our plan, no, _my_ plan was ruined. Well, more specifically," Kurokuma's voice changed to a feminine one, "Junko-fucking-Enoshima's plan. Upupu. If only I had a body to truly feel the tingle of despair I could sense throughout my _body_. That alone gives me even more _despair_." Giggles of ecstasy from both heads was heard by the man. The hard glances he's been giving them have softened. Now, the AIs began speaking alternatively.

"Despite being stupid kids, they surprised even me with the results they supplied. This was what you wanted, right Izuru? An unpredictable future?. The foundation of the true battle between Hope and Despair will emerge in this war — in a town I didn't even give a damn about. Now you'll get the answer you've always wanted. Truly, a final battle that's so despairingly perfect!" Izuru Kamakura stopped pushing the wheelbarrow. He stared down at the bears. If things truly were going his way, he'd have crushed these heads and ripped out their AIs a while ago in order to prepare for the next step. However, it'd be pointless to do so now. He finally spoke.

"What do you plan to do now?"

"We'll grab some popcorn, then Netflix and chill of course!" She replied. "We have a golden opportunity to literally watch a city burn and crumble right before us. Well... the crumble part is already half way done." As if on cue, the side of nearby building crashed down onto the street right after she spoke.

"But yeah! We already did so much work. Let's watch the fruits of our labor and admire this calamity of despair. Let's see if Mr. Protagonist, Makoto Naegi, and the lame Future Foundation fall under the power of Despair, whether it's led by Remnant of Despair or that 'Successor'. If nobody actually steps up to the plate, then I guess we can get off our cinema seats and actually play a role in this part of the story!

"Are you willing to do this with us? Pretty please, with sprinkles on top?"

Izuru didn't give them a verbal response. He didn't need to.

 **Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the long wait! I've been taking my time thinking about how to approach this. Right now I have a few building blocks I've planned out. I didn't want this to just be a one-shot because I wanted to further explore this path that no one had gone through yet. Anyways, enjoy!**

With heavy eyelids, Komaru tried to see what was in front of her. She saw an unfamiliar ceiling with its fluorescent lights turned off, yet there was still a source of light making its way inside the room. She turned to see through the window right next to her, which displayed a view above the city. The sky still seemed to be blood red. The entire view was blocked by a set of metallic bars, which were also attached on every window. Upon noticing them, Komaru twirled her head to check out the room. It had bare walls, save for a hung camera in the corner, and a privacy curtain next to the bed she was currently resting on. Metal railing hung by her feet. Her attention led to a familiar set of school clothes folded neatly on a nearby table.

If her clothes were there…

Komaru swung the blanket off, revealing herself clad in a hospital gown. Wires were placed all over the girl's body and that's when she noticed a rhythmic beeping noise coming from a machine next to her.

She looked through the window again to check where she was. Towa City. She checked the room again. One door. The beeping rhythm of the machine suddenly increased in speed alongside her own breathing.

 _Not another prison!_

Komaru tore the wires attached to her body off, letting the machine flat out. She ripped the gown off of her as she jumped over to the table and grabbed her clothes. It would have been much faster if she didn't have to wear a bra, but she didn't take a chance otherwise. Within minutes she was back into her regular outfit, though appearing a bit sloppy. Her head began aching as soon as she stood up, but that didn't matter.

 _Is that door locked?_

She bolted towards the door and rattled the locked handle with her hands. The pace of her erratic rattling surged, complementing the constant shortness of her breath. Soon, she let go of the handle and resumed panicking with her fists drumming against the door. Komaru didn't care if her hands would bleed, she needed to get out of this room. Before that could happen however, the door became unlocked and Komaru fled out into the hallway.

"Ow!"

Komaru was still catching her breath on the wall when she turned around to check out who made that noise. On the ground laid a white-haired boy with faded green eyes. He was still wearing his black coat and striped shirt, however, the chain around his neck was gone.

"What luck," he said, "you're fully awake."

"You're their servant," Komaru recalled.

" _Was_ to be exact. I only played as their servant for the opportunity to witness something. Now that I've achieved that, I have more important matters to attend to." By this time, the boy had brushed himself off and stood up. "But enough about trash such as myself, what happened? Why were you banging on the door?"

Komaru's breathing was still heavy but more controlled now. "I…" She looked at the door and the empty room. The sun shined on the torn gown and the rugged bed. "I had to get out of there. I've spent enough of my lifetime in enclosed jail rooms." The boy turned to the insides as well.

"I see. Makes sense. Sorry about that. That was more so you could be contained. We weren't sure what you'd be like when you woke up again. I remember the first time you woke up, you weren't really there. It was like your body had awoken, but your soul still slumbered." The boy twisted his face.

"Your eyes gazed at the ceiling, without actually _seeing_ it. It was the look of a broken person, who only comprehended despair. We were afraid you would be like that throughout the night, you were subdued for your body to get actual rest." The boy gave her a friendly smile. "For what it's worth, I'm glad you're fully here now. You wouldn't really be the Ultimate Despair if you remained like that, you'd have just been another victim like all of the other average people."

Komaru was the Ultimate Despair, that reminder gave her a sharp jab to the head. When she laid a hand on it, she finally noticed a bandage wrapped around her hair. Her cowlick seemed to still be sticking up though. How did she not notice this earlier?

"A hunch told me to come back and go into the tower. It was quite the honor to witness such a spectacular event. I was lucky to find you with only a head injury. Don't worry, you were under good care when you were treated. You also had some heavy bruising and a bit of internal bleeding, but a few days of recovery helped you out. Though I'm guessing you're still in decent pain."

Komaru's head only gotten worse when he mentioned the event. She gritted her teeth and tightened both fists when she asked, "Who's this 'we'?"

"The Remnants of Despair of course. The former Ultimate Students who follow Junko's footsteps." The boy revealed this bombshell with nothing more than a casual smile, that it only added more to the shock of what he told her. Komaru felt her lungs grow heavy for a different reason.

"So does that mean you're one of them?"

He nodded.

"I suppose now would be a good time to introduce myself. I'm Nagito Komaeda. I don't have much for a talent compared to the true Ultimates, but it's a talent I think you'll recognize. I'm the Ultimate Lucky Student." Nagito gave her a bow, his covered hand laying on his knee before getting back up.

"Ultimate Lucky Student? But that's my brother's talent!"

"They hold a lottery for this once a year. I was my class's year, and Makoto was the next class's winner." Komaru's headache had only gotten worse as time went on. Her vision began to blur around the edges. She edged towards the stairs

"I need some air. I need to leave this place!" With that said, she ran off to the stairs. Nagito did not run after her. Instead, he picked up the walkie-talkie hanging from his belt.

"She just ran outside. I need Peko to shadow her from a distance. Her morphine is probably wearing off, so she might collapse soon."

* * *

"Please reconsider!"

"This is non-negotiable."

In a meeting room, Makoto Naegi stood in front of a silver-haired man in a white suit sitting from across the room. Kyosuke Munakata did not budge from his seat. His blue eyes stared down Makoto clad in his black suit. He understood that what he asked for was a lot, but he still hoped something would change. Anything.

"Komaru can still be saved! I just know it!"

"She is now a threat to Future Foundation," Kyosuke stated, "as well as to the world."

"This was all the green-haired girl's fault. Komaru wouldn't have done that if it wasn't for her. I just know it!"

"The point isn't why she broke the controller. She did do it. On live television. End of story."

Each sentence Kyosuke spoke grew colder and colder. He stood up from his chair at the end of the room. His blue eyes bored into Makoto's hope-filled green ones again.

"Even if Future Foundation were to accept her, the world saw what she did. Komaru knew the consequences of her actions, but followed through nonetheless and killed those children. They would not be able to see anything else about her. They would certainly reject her. As vice leader of Future Foundation, leader of the second division, overseer of the organization's actions... as well as the one in charge of the upcoming war, I refuse to accept her as well. She was easily corrupted by despair. There's no doubt she could fall into despair again in the future. I cannot allow her to taint the years of hope that Future Foundation has built."

"But—"

"The hope of the world is far more important than one girl's hope. Especially a girl who has already caused plenty of despair. I will not discuss this any longer." Kyosuke's eyes grew in intensity. His presence stood over Makoto as he began to yield his plead, "The leaders of the divisions will be having a meeting soon. You may attend it to hear the details, but you will not disturb it whatsoever."

He finally looked away from Makoto.

However, without anything else to say, Makoto left the meeting room. Kyosuke could only sigh once he was alone. This wasn't a pretty decision, but it was necessary for hope to keep going. That alone reassured him.

As Makoto trudged along the hallway, questions about Komaru swarmed into his head. How could this have happened? Why did she do it? What will she do now? He could feel his head begin to hurt a little. Distracted with the pain, he ended up bumping into someone. Makoto quickly apologized, only to find he walked into the leader of Future Foundation and the head of the first division, Kazuo Tengan.

The old man looked down at the boy. "It appears even your ahoge is looking down." Makoto became a bit self-conscious about his brown hair. He never understood why it stood up in the middle.

"Do you agree with Kyosuke? Is my sister really… irredeemable?" Makoto's eyes wavered with emotion. Kazuo gestured Makoto to walk with him, back the way he was heading.

"As much as I hate to, I must side with Kyosuke on this one. It would take a long time for the public eye to see her as more than an enemy. He is just being very precautious about this. Besides, I'm afraid this concerns more than just your sister." Makoto noticed how the old man seemingly went into deep thought. "The Remnants of Despair will be there too. The times they have all come together are few and far in-between. However, once they reunite, they can cause utter travesty wherever they go. All of them will be in one place, so we need to give it everything we've got to take them down. I'm sure Kyosuke's mind is more focused on them than Komaru. This will be our big chance to make sure they all go down.

"I do hope that she surrenders herself and makes things easier. If she agrees to help us take them down, I'll see if we can give her a lighter punishment." They stopped right by the door. "Will you be attending the meeting? This is about your sister after all."

Makoto looked away from him.

"I think I should have some time for myself. I'll ask Kyoko to tell me what happened in the meeting."

Kazuo nodded his head.

"I see." He turned towards the meeting room doors. "Good day Makoto."

* * *

The sky was an ocean of blood, born from her hands. Komaru gazed across the battlefield with heavy-lidded, droopy eyes. They, along with her entire body, begged her to sleep with each sluggish movement, but their cries fell on deaf ears. Everything was numb except for the pain in her body.

She slogged forward onto the battlefield. Corpses and blood were laid out like a minefield, with explosion craters and rubble scattered here and there. There was a small body nearby with a piece of metal and glass next to it, Komaru stopped and picked up the piece. The sun shined its red lens like a beacon calling for her. It was a piece of Monokuma mask.

And right here was its previous owner.

Komaru immediately dropped the mask piece. It shattered into a million pieces. That noise, the shatter. She did something similar not too long ago. Memories flooded forward into her head. She couldn't help but take a few steps back. Air had abandoned her. In its place came up bile, stuck in her throat. She forced herself to swallow it all down. Swallow down her sin. Swallow down what she did. Swallow in her despair.

Her legs and knees abandoned her and she quickly collapsed on the ground. The more she tried to get up, the harder it became. Her arms trembled in agony and they couldn't support her. Fatigue finally consumed her and she became one with the battlefield. Before her eyes gave in, she noticed a shadow inch closer to her. Soon, Komaru was covered in something as she blacked out.


End file.
